Managing time in online courses student perceptions

While students are attracted to online courses for the time convenience, other research indicates that the on-line learner’s ability to manage time for the course, along with the other t

AC 2012-3521: MANAGING TIME IN ONLINE COURSES: STUDENT

PER-CEPTIONS

Prof Susan L Miertschin, University of Houston (CoT)

Susan L Miertschin is an Associate Professor teaching in the Computer Information Systems program

at the University of Houston Her teaching interests are in the development of information systems

ap-plications and the complementary nature of back-end developer and front-end developer skill sets Her

research interests are program and student assessment, the impact of instructional technology on student

learning, and the improvement of e-learning environments and experiences.

Dr Carole E Goodson, University of Houston

Carole Goodson is a professor of technology at the University of Houston As an active member of ASEE,

she is a member of the Academy of Fellows, a past Editor of the Journal of Engineering Technology, a

past Chair of PIC IV and the ERM Division, and a past Chair of the Gulf Southwest Section of ASEE.

Dr Barbara L Stewart, University of Houston

Barbara L Stewart earned a B.A from Brigham Young University, a M.S from Utah State University, and

an Ed.D from Brigham Young University Her research and curriculum development interests focus on

online course development and delivery, along with cognitive, multiple talent, and learning styles theories

and their application to educational settings Stewart’s career has included service as a faculty member,

Department Chair, and Associate Dean She is currently a professor of human development and consumer

science at the University of Houston Email: bstewart@uh.edu.

c

Managing Time in On-line Courses: Student Perceptions

Abstract

Time management is an important life skill and one that is vital to student success in higher

education Time management skills are perceived by some as more essential for success in

on-line courses than in traditional face-to-face courses This exploratory study uses a survey of

student perception to discover relationships that may exist between time management skill

development and on-line course completion The study was inspired by student responses to

open-ended questions on a prior survey that seemed to imply a positive relationship between

on-line course completion and the acquisition of time management skills This study was undertaken

to explore those preliminary findings

Introduction

Working adults with demanding schedules, parents juggling children’s activities and traditional

students who often must meet the demands of multiple courses are enrolling in on-line courses in

increasing numbers In fact, research at the University of Houston indicates that although

students enroll in on-line courses for a myriad of reasons, time/convenience/access is the number

one reported strength of on-line offerings1 Students in the study commented:

“As a fulltime student who also has a fulltime job, it is essential for me to be able

to access course material, lectures, assignments, and get in contact with my

classmates on my schedule - which frequently means in the late evenings This is

made possible in online course delivery.”

“If we didn’t have this option I don’t think I would be able to ever graduate and I

think this applies to many students who live far from campus, who work full time,

have a family and/or children who need care“

While students are attracted to online courses for the time convenience, other research indicates

that the on-line learner’s ability to manage time for the course, along with the other time

demands in their life, is an important element of on-line course success and on-line course

satisfaction2, 3 The current research was motivated by evidence from a prior study that suggested

that, in some students’ minds, on-line enrollment had helped them develop better personal and

time management skills1

In general, time management is seen as important to student success Britton and Tesser4 report

that time management practices play a role in educational achievement and found a relationship

between time management skills and grade point average Structural elements of courses

complement student time management practices, Traditional face-to-face classes offer temporal

structure through regular class meetings, which also enable regular verification of participation

(by checking attendance, e.g.), verbal instruction accompanied by indirect body language cues,

and regular implicit and explicit feedback In order to create temporal structure in on-line

courses, elements other than face-to-face class meetings must be substituted The authors of the

paper report using electronically enforced due dates, digital course calendars, email reminders,

and on-line to-do lists to provide temporal structure Some educators purport that the use of

technology in education leads to more student learning independence Learning independence is

characterized by self-regulated actions, some of which are tied to time management skill5 Is it

possible then that on-line courses, with their use of technology and their flexible scheduling,

offer a benefit in the form of fostering the development of time management skills in the learners

who take them?

In order to better understand student perceptions related to the role of time management in online

courses, a survey instrument was used to measure student perceptions of the impact of on-line

courses on their time management skills The survey was administered to 148 students enrolled

in four undergraduate courses and one graduate course, including courses in research,

supervision, and information technology The survey was administered on-line using Blackboard

and results were analyzed Using the results of this survey and related literature, this paper

addresses the following issues

1 What are student perceptions of the impact of course delivery format (on-line or

face-to-face) on their time management skills?

2 Do students perceive that there are factors of time management that influence their course

performance?

3 How do student perceptions of time management in on-line and face-to-face courses vary

among factions of the student population?

Analysis of the survey results and implications for on-line delivery of courses are presented

Background

Books, articles, and stories abound that offer advice to people about how to better manage time

in order to achieve personal goals and reduce stress A search of YouTube.com in 2011, using

the search string of “time management”, yielded roughly 134,000 video titles (not refereed, but

some quite popular) “How-to” advice is frequently in the form of specific techniques or

procedures that an individual should apply Table 1 presents a list of time management

techniques taken from a variety of sources

Table 1 Practical Time Management Techniques from a Variety of Sources

Break large tasks into smaller tasks because it is easier to

tackle a small task

Recognize when an immediate desire conflicts with an

ultimate goal

(Nikitina, 2009)7

Spend time thinking and planning your life and work so

Keep a journal of time use to establish a baseline of how

time is being used

Coach yourself with questions such as, “What is the best

use of my time now?”

(Kane, 2007)9

“If you have to eat two frogs, eat the ugliest one first”

(your “frog” is your biggest, most important task, uglier

means bigger and more important) (p.2)10

“If you have to eat a live frog at all, it doesn’t pay to sit

and look at it for very long” (p 3) 10

(Tracy, 2007)10

Time tasks that are repeated in your routine until you can

accurately estimate how long they will take

Delegate work – consider that your personal skill sets are

not the most appropriate for a particular task

(Morgenstern, 2004)11

Identify goals (needs and wants)

Prioritize goals

Allocate time to goal tasks accordingly

(Therese H Macan, Shahani, Dipboye, & Phillips, 1990)12

Why do people need techniques and advice for managing time? Time is a finite resource It

exists beside other finite resources such as money, energy, and talent Profit models for varied

business and industrial sectors attempt to balance the use of a set of finite resources, often in a

mathematical give and take balancing act, so that a profit function can be optimized For some

people, the profit function is the abstract notion of a rich, fulfilling life with accomplishments

and achievements balanced by quality of life factors For students enrolled in higher education,

the profit function is successfully completing courses that are part of a degree program while

working at a job (for some), playing, and maintaining friendships and family relationships So a

student’s time must be managed in order to optimize his or her chance at successfully meeting

short and long-term course and program-of-study goals while maintaining quality of life

Perhaps an abundance of popular material about how to manage time exists because there is

scholarly research that shows that time management can be taught and learned Time

management is defined differently in most studies, but most definitions reflect the one provided

by Lakein13, who profiled time management as a process of determining needs, setting goals to

achieve those needs, planning the tasks required, and prioritizing them Claessens, van Eerde,

Rutte, and Roe point out that studying time use is purposeless outside the context of

goal-directed activity14 Research such as that by Woolfolk and Wookfolk15, Van Eerde16, Adamson,

Covic, and Lincoln17, Kisa and Ersoy18, Green and Skinner19, and Häfner and Stock20 reinforce

the notion that skills that support an effective time management process can be taught and

learned Perhaps, the contemporary emergence of the “life coach” profession indicates that time

management is a skill that can also be coaxed into existence21

The literature identifies time management factors that emerge from various research efforts A

study by Claessens, van Eerde, Rutte, and Roe14 identifies three “groupings of behaviors” related

to time management These groupings are time assessment behaviors (self-awareness of time

needed and available), planning behaviors (setting goals, planning and grouping tasks,

prioritizing), and monitoring behaviors (self-observation of time use against goals, and feedback

loops) A study by Bond and Feather22 named five factors related to time management They are

sense of purpose, structured routine, orientation to the present, effective organization, and

persistence A third study identified three factors, namely short-range planning, long-range

planning, and time attitudes4 A fourth body of research identifies four factors They are setting

goals and priorities, techniques of time management (e.g., making lists, setting reminders),

personal preference for organization (e.g., preference for an orderly workspace over a disorderly

workspace), and perceived control of time12, 23 The identification of factors, with overlap of

some factors and distinctiveness of others, demonstrate not only the different ways time

management has been approached for study by scholars, but also the depth of thinking on the

concept

Students enrolled in higher education have goals to achieve within a finite amount of time

Teaching faculty observe students every semester who seem unable to systematically allocate

proper proportions of their ethereal and apparently scarce time resource in order to satisfy the

learning requirements of their face-to-face or on-line coursework It is widely recognized in

higher education that some students achieve more academically than others, and there is research

that investigates how student achievement relates to their time management skills Macan,

Shahani, Dipboye, and Phillips23 studied the correlation of time management with both academic

performance and stress Their research found a correlation between time management behaviors

and both self-reported GPAs and student life satisfaction Britton and Tesser4 found a similar

correlation in a separate study In some learning literature, time management skills are part of a

larger concept called “self-regulatory learning behaviors,” which are also part of a concept called

“self-discipline” Zimmerman defines self-regulatory learning behaviors as “self-generated

thoughts, feelings, and actions for attaining academic goals”24 Time management skills fall in

the category of self-generated actions as described by Zimmerman A study by George, Dixon,

Stansal, Gelb, and Pheri25 identified time management skills as the highest predictor of student

success as measured by GPA In the same study, time management skills were the second

highest predictor of a broader measure of “total success” that included measures of quality of

life The highest specific predictor of total success in the study was having clearly defined goals,

which is a technique that is treated as part of time management in much of the literature

Studies have also been conducted to determine if training students in time management

principles, behaviors, and techniques will produce students who are better able to handle the

demands of a higher education curriculum Zimmerman and Schunk26 explain a large body of

research that supports teaching self-regulatory behaviors as a way of enhancing academic

achievement

In the on-line learning literature, self-discipline is often mentioned as important for student

success For example, in a survey conducted by The Sloan Consortium (a consortium of

individuals, institutions, and organizations committed to quality in on-line education),

approximately two-thirds of academic leaders surveyed mentioned the need for more discipline

on the part of on-line students as a critical barrier to success of on-line learning3 Success in

on-line courses has been studied and linked to students’ time management skills A study by Song,

Singleton, Hill and Koh27 found the students who had experience with on-line courses perceived

that time management had an impact on the success of such an experience Lynch and Dembo28

identified the attributes of goal orientation and time and study management as predictive of

academic success in on-line and blended learning Barnard, et al found that student

self-regulatory behaviors had an indirect impact on student perceptions about achievement in on-line

courses by influencing them to communicate and collaborate more fully29 Michinov, Brunot, Le

Bohec, Huhel and Delaval30 studied a single dimension of time management behavior,

procrastination, and found it to be negatively correlated with success in an online course

Thus, there is both theoretical and experimental research that supports the notion that time

management skills are important for academic success, and in particular, for success in on-line

courses The current study represents an initial exploratory effort to determine if on-line course

completion helps to develop students’ time management skills This notion is important because

self-regulatory techniques, once mastered, are used throughout life to function effectively at

work and at home24 In society today, work is a central part of a process of “life-long

self-construction” that encompasses personal choices related to health, environment, and achieving

balance in one’s life The process requires individuals to be self-regulated learners31

As online learning grows in popularity, it may come to be viewed as an essential mechanism for training

individuals for life success

Study Procedures and Results

In order to obtain a clearer understanding of how certain instructional components contribute to

students’ perceptions of quality in on-line course offerings, 148 students were surveyed in April

2011 at the University Participating students were registered in one of six courses chosen for

distribution of the study survey The courses varied in subject, level and delivery mode as shown

in Table 2

Table 2: Courses Used for Survey Administration

Internet Application

Development

Topics in Computer

Information Systems

In order to complete the survey, students logged on to an on-line learning management system

that housed course materials and other course elements Completion of the survey was

voluntary, and all responses were anonymous Students were told that they were responding to a

survey about their experiences with traditional and on-line courses, in general That is, the

survey was not to be used to express an opinion about the course in which the students were

currently enrolled Using this system, responses were downloaded for analysis into a

spreadsheet, with each response record identified by a number assigned to the response record

To facilitate the goals of this research, a survey instrument was adapted from a previous study1

This survey instrument consisted of 21 items Items 1 through 8 addressed student demographics

including: 1) student classification, 2) number of on-line courses completed by the student, 3)

enrollment status (mostly full-time or mostly part-time), 4) gender, 5) age, 6) estimated overall

GPA, 7) distance from the student’s home to the campus and 8) employment status The second

part of the survey focused on student perception of value of various on-line course features

The third part of the instrument is the focus of this paper; it addressed issues related to students’

time management approach with respect to class participation and planning It also elicited

perception about whether their time management approach was different in on-line courses

versus traditional face-to-face courses Specifically, items addressed deadline problems, study

time, general time management, relationship of learning management to student and course

format, and perceived difficulty in completing courses

The analysis was designed to consider the following issues:

1 What are student perceptions of the impact of course delivery format (on-line or

face-to-face) on their time management skills?

2 Do students perceive that there are factors of time management that influence their

performance?

3 How do student perceptions of time management in online-courses and face-to-face

courses vary among factions of the student population?

Ninety percent of the students were classified as at least junior level, and thus, they were

experienced students The students were also experienced with on-line courses; 52% of them had

completed at least four on-line courses, and only 16% had zero or one on-line course The

students were otherwise characterized as female (58%), mostly full-time (87%) and under 26

years of age (78%) Most lived in the Houston region (91%), at least 10 miles from campus

(59%) Seventy-nine percent of the students were employed, either in a full-time or part-time

position

A review of the data on student perceptions of course deadlines by course format is presented in

Table 3 and Figure 1 In order to determine formats that were perceived as presenting problems

with deadlines, students were asked to identify the course format (if any) that presented, for

them, the most problem with assignment deadlines

Table 3: Student Perceptions of Course Deadlines by

Course Format

Meeting course deadlines is usually a problem for me

in:

(n=148)

Figure 1: Student Perceptions of Course Deadlines by Course Format

(n=148)

The data indicates that for most students, course deadlines are not a problem However, it also

indicates that for some students (20%), on-line courses present more of a challenge with respect

to meeting deadlines than do face-to-face courses

A review of the data on the perceptions of study time by course format is presented in Tables 4

and 5 and corresponding Figures 2 and 3 Specifically, students were asked if they dedicated a

specific time to study (Table 4 and Figure 2) They were then queried as to whether they

managed time more effectively by various course formats (Table 5 and Figure 3)

Table 4: Student Perceptions of Dedicated Study

Time by Course Format

I dedicate a specific time each week to study for my:

(n=148)

Figure 2: Student Perceptions of Dedicated Study Time by Course Format

(n=148)

The data indicates that 60% of the students have dedicated study time for any course (on-line or

face-to-face) Twenty percent of the students have no dedicated study time for any course

(on-line or face-to-face) While 11% of the respondents have a dedicated study time specifically for

on-line courses and not face-to-face courses, for only 1% of the respondents is the reverse true

This indicates that for a small population of students, they see a need to structure a specific time

for study for an on-line course without seeing this need for a face-to-face course It is plausible

that, through on-line course experiences, these students might see a generalized value of

structuring specific time for study, which is an academic time management skill

d.Meeting course deadlines is not a

problem for me.

No

b.face-to-face classes F-F 1

c.both on-line and face-to-face classes OL/F-F 65

d.I do not have dedicated study time

blocks.

None

23

Table 5: Student Perceptions of Time Management’s

Relation to Success by Class Format

I had to learn to manage my time to succeed in my:

(n=148)

Figure 3: Student Perceptions of Time Management’s Relation to Success by Class Format

(n=148)

The data indicates that almost 60% of the students had to learn to manage time to be successful

with any course (on-line or face-to-face) Thirty percent of the students said that they had to

learn time management to succeed in on-line courses only, while only 2% of the students said

that they had to learn time management to succeed in face-to-face courses only Thus, it appears

that there may be merit to the notion that on-line course experiences are developing some time

management behaviors for some of those enrolled

The concept of feeling “in control” of time has been examined as an outcome of good time

management skills4, 14 The construct of feeling “in control” of learning is linked to lower levels

of academic stress, and lower academic stress has been linked to higher academic performance32,

33

Data from the survey question that addressed feeling “in control” is presented in Table 6 and

Figure 4

Table 6: Student Perceptions of Learning

Management Control by Class Format

I feel more in charge of my learning with my:

(n=148)

Figure 4: Student Perceptions of Learning Management Control by Class Format

(n=148)

The data indicates that almost 50% of the respondents feel more in control of their learning in

on-line courses Twenty-five percent of respondents felt more in control of their learning in

face-to-face courses Almost 30% of respondents felt in control of their learning regardless of course

format

In reviewing demographic variables, it seems that the number of courses a student had completed

in an on-line format had a relationship to their (collective) view of improvement in managing

their time, as shown in Table 7

c.both on-line and face-to-face classes OL/F-F 57

d.The statement does not apply to me NA 7

Charge

3

Table 7: Time Management Improvement and OL Course Completion

This table indicates that if a student has completed more than 5 on-line courses then they are

more likely to report that their time management has improved from enrolling in the on-line

sections In general, it seems that perception of time management (TM) improves with increases

in on-line enrollments The survey items regarding number of on-line enrollments and what

format helped improve TM skills are not presented together, so it is not likely that the students’

attention to number of on-line courses completed biased their answer to the item about

improvement of TM skills The survey did not include a question about the number of

face-to-face courses completed, but this value might be approximately deduced from the classification

level of the student This data is shown in Table 8

Table 8: Time Management Improvement and F-F Course Completion

Using parallel reasoning, if a student has completed many or very many face-to-face courses the

data indicated they are less likely to report that their time management has improved from

enrolling in face-to-face courses than they are to report that their time management has improved

from enrolling in on-line courses This seems to suggest that the more experienced students

recognize that on-line courses contribute to the development of their time management skills

while face-to-face courses do not

Finally, students were asked to respond to two open ended questions

Q1 What time management and/or lifelong learning skills have you developed from your

experiences with on-line classes?

Q2 What time management and/or lifelong learning skills have you developed from your

experiences with face-to-face classes?

No of OL

Courses

Completions

Percent (%) Responding by Course Format:

My time management skills have improved from

enrolling in courses that are: